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Farmer Deryck Fell, of Annaside, said: 'It's great that they're going to do that. But I don't know why they wanted to make the changes in the first place. They didn't consult us properly.'

A ROYAL RUBBISH SCANDAL

The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea has decided to remove the litter bins from residential streets, controversially claiming that they attract more rubbish.

Officials at the council said that bins on the street encourage fly-tipping, increasing the amount of litter left behind.

Local, Amanda Salvesen, 27, a PR manager from Earl’s Court, said: ‘I don’t think they have asked the local residents. They are always full, people use them. They should be adding more, not taking them away.’

Despite objections, the council claims that when bins are removed from streets, there is only a slight increase in littering.

Kathy Way, head of waste at the council, said in a report: ‘There are two schools of thought regarding litter bins; one is that litter bins are needed for the public to use, indeed that some members of the public look for litter bins in which to deposit waste, otherwise they may take it home or drop it on the street.

‘The other is that litter bins attract more rubbish, some of which can be unpaid-for commercial waste and domestic waste.’

As well as the logistical problems of transporting the bins to the collection point, residents had raised concerns that the large volume of bins, heavy traffic flow and narrow roads would have led to an increase in accidents.

Councillor Allan Holliday, portfolio holder for the environment and sustainability, said the council had now organised a ‘mutually acceptable' alternative with the residents.

He said: 'We are facing unprecedented funding cuts, and as a result have reviewed all of the services we provide, including waste collection. As a result, like other rural councils, we are having to look at the feasibility of collections from lanes.

'However in this instance, we've listened and have already arranged a mutually acceptable and practical alternative with residents, as we would look to do wherever concerns are raised. Consultation is ongoing.'

Keith Parker, Copeland Borough Council's head of neighbourhoods, previously told the Evening Mail the council was ‘no longer able to afford to travel significant distances down lanes to collect people's waste'. A Copeland Borough Council spokeswoman confirmed that there was no way to practically implement the policy in the Bootle situation so, at the moment, the council would be continuing to collect the waste as normal.

The bags would then be collected from a large bin stationed at the end of the lane.

The rules, were due to come into effect on February 15, were part of a cost-cutting drive by Copeland Borough Council – which had said it was no longer prepared to collect rubbish from ‘off-route properties’.

Before the council's u-turn Mr Fell, 56, said it was absolute ‘madness’ to expect elderly residents to embark on a three-mile round trip.

‘There are at least five residents who are in their eighties and they simply won’t be able to do it,’ he said.

‘It is an absolutely ludicrous situation and we’re frankly disgusted that the council would allow this to happen considering how much we all pay for our council tax.’

Bootle residents Hazel Fell, David Cross and Deryck Fell, above, spoke out against the council's decision to cut the bin service from 14 houses

Mr Fell, who lives with his wife Hazel in Bootle, added: ‘It doesn’t make environmental sense to have 14 homes running 14 vehicles up the road to drop their bins off. There is no room for bins where they are proposing to have it collected. You’ve got loads of cars and school buses going down that road.

‘There have already been accidents – this will make it worse.’

Until now the residents, whose annual council tax bill is £1,569, put their rubbish in individual wheelie bins and a wagon has driven up Church Lane in Bootle once a fortnight to collect it.

The authority hoped the scheme would save £120,000.

It will still make assisted collections for disabled residents but has said this will be carried out with smaller vehicles. Councillor Allan Holliday, a spokesman for the environment and sustainability, said: ‘We are facing unprecedented funding cuts and have reviewed all of the services we provide, including waste collection.

‘As a result, like other rural councils we are having to look at the feasibility of collections from lanes. Consultation is ongoing.’

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Council makes U-turn after making residents drag their wheelie bins more than a MILE for them to be collected